An electron microscopic image of a human papilloma virus Image: Penn State (Flickr)

A recent study conducted in the BMJ medium is the latest to demonstrate even the short-term benefits of the papillomavirus vaccine human (HPV). It has been found that the usual vaccination of girls in Scotland, starting in 2008, has led to a sharp decrease in the incidence of cervical disease until the girls have turned 20. This included conditions that later raised the risk of developing cervical cancer

. ] There are more than 1

00 different types of IDPs that regularly infect people. Most types do not cause symptoms at all, and some can cause irritating but harmless warts on our hands, legs or genitals, depending on where they like to call home. High-risk HPV types, however, are delayed in cells that align the surface of our body, causing changes that can ultimately turn them into cancerous ones. These types of HPV are almost all cases of cervical cancer, as well as a significant proportion of cancer in the oral cavity, throat, anus, and penis.

We had a vaccine for two of the most common risks. types of IDPs since 2006, when it was originally recommended only for teenage girls. For many years, the window of opportunity for the vaccine has expanded, as well as the number of types of HPV from which it is protected. The latest version protects against seven types of high-risk, which account for 90% of cases of cervical cancer (along with two types that cause genital warts). Young boys and men are now also encouraged to receive a vaccine, as well as women under the age of 45.

Despite this increase in the recommended age, vaccination while youth is most beneficial, as it is extremely easy to commit an IDP, a person becomes sexually active. However, childhood vaccination rates in places like the United States are still very low. According to one estimate, only 35 percent of children are fully vaccinated under the age of 15 (current guidelines require children to start vaccination from 11 to 12 years old, and only two shots are needed if they are both 15 years old and are required). That low levels of adherence not only impede the protective effect of the vaccine, it also complicates the efforts of researchers to study the real impact of the vaccine on the population

In countries such as Scotland, the usual HPV vaccination was quickly adopted. and have become commonplace thanks to the national vaccination program targeting children aged 12 to 13, starting in 2008, along with a later program targeting older teens. But there are other factors that make Scotland an ideal country to test the value of a large-scale vaccination against HPV, says lead author Tim Palmer, pathologist at Edinburgh University.

at the age of 20, so we are one of the first countries where immunized women attend screening, "he told Gizmodo via e-mail. "We are also one of the few countries that have the opportunity to directly acknowledge the fact that a person was or was not vaccinated, and the results of her screening many years later."

Palmer and his team reviewed records of over 130,000 women in Scotland who received one of these cervical screenings at the age of 20. They compared women who were vaccinated for HPV as young girls with women who were older, vaccinated during the onset of the program, and unvaccinated women born in 1988.

They found that women who were vaccinated as young girls have a much lower chance of having any type of cervical disease that is defined as an increase in abnormal cervical cells. Most importantly, growth rate, classified as Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia (CIN) of Grade 3, also significantly decreased by almost 90%. This is critical, since the growth of CIN3 puts women at the highest risk of developing cervical cancer. According to Palmer, the 90 percent reduction they found is the largest drop in CIN3 in any population that has HPV vaccination.

"So, we are sure that lowering CIN3 will lead to a decrease in the level of cancer."

The high level of vaccination in Scotland also had an indirect effect. The level of cervical cancer in the minority of eligible women, but not vaccinated, also declined, that is, the coverage of vaccines was high enough to provide some herd immunity (more simply, the more protected the population from the disease, the lesser the disease should spread for unprotected people). As expected, women who were older in vaccination still had a lower incidence of cervical cancer than unvaccinated women, but not as much as those who received the vaccine when they were young. The Scottish Program for IDPs has been unsurpassed success, which will continue to be paid for decades. The Scottish early history of success should provide more motivation for other countries to increase their own vaccination at the local level. many women develop it in the mid-30's and 40's. But Palmer says his team is already working on studying screening data that could show the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing early cancers.

The growing success of an HPV vaccine could lead to changes in how we examine women for cervical cancer. Because, obviously there will be fewer total cases of cancer – this is a welcome issue, obviously.

"Ultimately, when women who are regularly immunized form the majority of women eligible for screening, the need for screening programs for the cervix must be reviewed. ; they can no longer be justified, "he said. "However, in Scotland, this moment will not be attained at least 25 or 30 years. To this stage it is necessary to review the frequency and number of screening tests; there is an assumption that only two or three tests in the "screening" period will be adequate "

Currently, in the United States, an estimated 12,000 new cases of cervical cancer are reported annually.